In less than a month. We know that health Scope, the operator of Darwin Private Hospital, is ceasing maternity services, leaving expectant mums in Limbo. We spoke earlier about this with the Health Minister and the private packages which have been announced, but reports in the Australian newspaper this week have cast doubt on the future of health Scope's private hospitals as a whole. And a man who's been following this situation very closely is Ken Moffatt. Now. Ken is from the Australian Independent Retirees NT branch.

In less than a month. We know that health Scope, the operator of Darwin Private Hospital, is ceasing maternity services, leaving expectant mums in Limbo. We spoke earlier about this with the Health Minister and the private packages which have been announced, but reports in the Australian newspaper this week have cast doubt on the future of health Scope's private hospitals as a whole. And a man who's been following this situation very closely is Ken Moffatt. Now. Ken is from the Australian Independent Retirees NT branch.

Good morning to you, Ken, Good morning Gatie.

Good morning to you, Ken, Good morning Gatie.

Ken I said earlier, you're almost like an assistant producer to us on this topic because you have been following this really closely and it's actually incredibly helpful letting us know what is going on. But what's the situation as you understand it at the.

Ken I said earlier, you're almost like an assistant producer to us on this topic because you have been following this really closely and it's actually incredibly helpful letting us know what is going on. But what's the situation as you understand it at the.

Moment, Well, the situation is getting a little bit more dire of each day goes by, as we hear that now Brookfield have withdrawn from the whole process and handed the Healthscope back to the lenders. Now that may stave off some of the individual hospitals being caught in a liquidation issue. But I don't know whether it goes overly well. The more you read in the articles, the more you can suggest that many of the private hospitals will close. We're in a unique situation here in the Northern Territory where we only have one private hospital. The thing that I don't know, and I'm not sure whether our government up here knows, is what is the financial health of Darleen Private Hospital, Because if it's not particularly good, then Darleen Private Hospital could be one of the vulnerable hospitals to just simply closure as being just too hard. The whole thing with Healthscope has been They've been badly managed and their debt position is untenable. And why we as a country allowed a Canadian fund to buy into our private health system. Their motivation has to only be profit. Their motivation is not about the health of Australians and so I find it quite staggering that the sale to Brookville was allowed in the first place. But we've got this mess and we've now got to see whether or not it impacts us because Darlan's in a unique position. We only have one private hospital, so we are very vulnerable up here, and I believe that the government needs to be on the front foot as it relates to making sure that they have plans in place if it all goes pear shaped with Darwen Private Hospital can.

Moment, Well, the situation is getting a little bit more dire of each day goes by, as we hear that now Brookfield have withdrawn from the whole process and handed the Healthscope back to the lenders. Now that may stave off some of the individual hospitals being caught in a liquidation issue. But I don't know whether it goes overly well. The more you read in the articles, the more you can suggest that many of the private hospitals will close. We're in a unique situation here in the Northern Territory where we only have one private hospital. The thing that I don't know, and I'm not sure whether our government up here knows, is what is the financial health of Darleen Private Hospital, Because if it's not particularly good, then Darleen Private Hospital could be one of the vulnerable hospitals to just simply closure as being just too hard. The whole thing with Healthscope has been They've been badly managed and their debt position is untenable. And why we as a country allowed a Canadian fund to buy into our private health system. Their motivation has to only be profit. Their motivation is not about the health of Australians and so I find it quite staggering that the sale to Brookville was allowed in the first place. But we've got this mess and we've now got to see whether or not it impacts us because Darlan's in a unique position. We only have one private hospital, so we are very vulnerable up here, and I believe that the government needs to be on the front foot as it relates to making sure that they have plans in place if it all goes pear shaped with Darwen Private Hospital can.

I asked the Northern Territory Health Minister about this this morning and he's sort of, you know, he didn't have a great deal of detail when it came to these further sort of stories that have been reported on in The Australian in recent days. I did also speak to the Australian Medical Associations in t branch president about this, excuse me, yesterday, and he said that he's written to the Health Minister federally and that he really believes that, you know, there needs to be a further look into and there needs to be some legislation potentially in the future stopping foreign investors from actually investing into our private health.

I asked the Northern Territory Health Minister about this this morning and he's sort of, you know, he didn't have a great deal of detail when it came to these further sort of stories that have been reported on in The Australian in recent days. I did also speak to the Australian Medical Associations in t branch president about this, excuse me, yesterday, and he said that he's written to the Health Minister federally and that he really believes that, you know, there needs to be a further look into and there needs to be some legislation potentially in the future stopping foreign investors from actually investing into our private health.

You're quite correct that the Federal Health Minister is coming out today swinging saying that under no circumstances is are the FEDS going to get involved in any kind of bailout of the private health private hospital system.

You're quite correct that the Federal Health Minister is coming out today swinging saying that under no circumstances is are the FEDS going to get involved in any kind of bailout of the private health private hospital system.

Right my goodness.

Right my goodness.

So, I mean, you know that doesn't actually both particularly well either. I don't know whether we're in trouble because I don't know the financial state, but I would suspect based upon some locals who've told me that it's probably a bit of a basket case that we may be down the bottom end of the profitability scale as it relates to private hospitals. What I want to make sure is that the Chief Minister and the Health Minister have actually got skin in the game finding out what the state of the financial situation is for the day and private hospital and if it is powerless, and if it is a problem, then they should be making some conversations about what would happen if they decide to close the doors. What options are there available now listening to the Treasure, I didn't hear the interview in real time, but I heard it again this morning, and thank you for bringing that up with it. Look, I don't think there's money in the till of the Northern Territory government, but somebody needs to start putting something in place, because if it goes pay shot, if the hospital actually closes, even if it's only for a short period of time, there will be a mass exits out of the territory. Yeah.

So, I mean, you know that doesn't actually both particularly well either. I don't know whether we're in trouble because I don't know the financial state, but I would suspect based upon some locals who've told me that it's probably a bit of a basket case that we may be down the bottom end of the profitability scale as it relates to private hospitals. What I want to make sure is that the Chief Minister and the Health Minister have actually got skin in the game finding out what the state of the financial situation is for the day and private hospital and if it is powerless, and if it is a problem, then they should be making some conversations about what would happen if they decide to close the doors. What options are there available now listening to the Treasure, I didn't hear the interview in real time, but I heard it again this morning, and thank you for bringing that up with it. Look, I don't think there's money in the till of the Northern Territory government, but somebody needs to start putting something in place, because if it goes pay shot, if the hospital actually closes, even if it's only for a short period of time, there will be a mass exits out of the territory. Yeah.

Well, and also though you know, for those of us that are here, that is set to stay. It's going to mean that our Royal Darwin Hospital obviously faces more pressure as a result of any of those patients having to go across there. So however you look at it, it's going to have an impact on all territorians. Ken, I think the point you make is a really good one. I actually think no one's expecting the Northern Territory government has the funds to be able to bail out this private operator. But I do think that there need to be having a close look at this now before it becomes an issue, so that there are potentially some plans in place.

Well, and also though you know, for those of us that are here, that is set to stay. It's going to mean that our Royal Darwin Hospital obviously faces more pressure as a result of any of those patients having to go across there. So however you look at it, it's going to have an impact on all territorians. Ken, I think the point you make is a really good one. I actually think no one's expecting the Northern Territory government has the funds to be able to bail out this private operator. But I do think that there need to be having a close look at this now before it becomes an issue, so that there are potentially some plans in place.

Look talking to some people who've been involved in thet of the hospital and health system here in the Northern Territory, they have the belief that a consortium the doctors up here might be willing to actually get involved in some sort of buyout of the private hospital. But like, you've got to be on the front foot doing this. You can't wait until it's been put into liquidation and they close the doors to actually see whether because then you're going to get a mass exodus of people out of the health system going into state to get jobs because they just lost theirs. So it's about I don't know whether that's a possibility, but like, we need to look at what options there are or who might possibly take over the hospital, And I don't know. I've got no background in the health system, so I have no idea who might want to be involved. But look, the government's got to start asking some questions to see whether there's a Plan B, because Plan A doesn't look real good right now.

Look talking to some people who've been involved in thet of the hospital and health system here in the Northern Territory, they have the belief that a consortium the doctors up here might be willing to actually get involved in some sort of buyout of the private hospital. But like, you've got to be on the front foot doing this. You can't wait until it's been put into liquidation and they close the doors to actually see whether because then you're going to get a mass exodus of people out of the health system going into state to get jobs because they just lost theirs. So it's about I don't know whether that's a possibility, but like, we need to look at what options there are or who might possibly take over the hospital, And I don't know. I've got no background in the health system, so I have no idea who might want to be involved. But look, the government's got to start asking some questions to see whether there's a Plan B, because Plan A doesn't look real good right now.

No, Well, Ken, we did as I said, We did put it to the Health Minister this morning. He didn't seem to know a huge amount about it. I mean, what is your message? What's your message for the government today?

No, Well, Ken, we did as I said, We did put it to the Health Minister this morning. He didn't seem to know a huge amount about it. I mean, what is your message? What's your message for the government today?

I think the government, between the Health Minister and the Chief Minister, somebody needs to get on top of this. It's not going to be easy to get hold of the records of the financial stability of Royal Dam and private hospital, but somebody's got to do it. We've got to know whether we're at the bottom of the pile or at the top of the pile. At the top of the pile, go back to the pub. But if we're at the bottom of the pile, somebody needs to think about what would happen if because if we don't get on the front foot and have something in place by the time it goes pear shaped. It's going to have catastrophic consequences up here in the territory. I cannot even imagine. We must be losing credibility with the military and the maternity side of things. This would be just another nail in the coffin of anybody thinking of coming to the Northern Territory. And as for the people who are here, particularly the seniors, they're going to be wanting to go somewhere where they've got access to the type of private medical care that we've seen this sometimes need.

I think the government, between the Health Minister and the Chief Minister, somebody needs to get on top of this. It's not going to be easy to get hold of the records of the financial stability of Royal Dam and private hospital, but somebody's got to do it. We've got to know whether we're at the bottom of the pile or at the top of the pile. At the top of the pile, go back to the pub. But if we're at the bottom of the pile, somebody needs to think about what would happen if because if we don't get on the front foot and have something in place by the time it goes pear shaped. It's going to have catastrophic consequences up here in the territory. I cannot even imagine. We must be losing credibility with the military and the maternity side of things. This would be just another nail in the coffin of anybody thinking of coming to the Northern Territory. And as for the people who are here, particularly the seniors, they're going to be wanting to go somewhere where they've got access to the type of private medical care that we've seen this sometimes need.

Yeah, well, Ken, look, we are due as under started to have the Chief Minister on the show on Monday, so we will make sure that we put that to hurt. Thank you as always for your time and for sort of making us aware of what's going on in this space.

Yeah, well, Ken, look, we are due as under started to have the Chief Minister on the show on Monday, so we will make sure that we put that to hurt. Thank you as always for your time and for sort of making us aware of what's going on in this space.

Now. I'm sorry, I'm not going to be able to help you for the next five weeks because I'm traveling internationally, so I'll just have to wait until I get back to see whether you've sorted.

Now. I'm sorry, I'm not going to be able to help you for the next five weeks because I'm traveling internationally, so I'll just have to wait until I get back to see whether you've sorted.

It or out for me what no voluntary assistant producer role for the next five weeks.

It or out for me what no voluntary assistant producer role for the next five weeks.

I'd love too, but you'll have to wait till the end of June.

I'd love too, but you'll have to wait till the end of June.

I'm afraid well, considering you are retired, that's probably the right thing to be doing, mate. So I very much appreciate you getting in contact with us and making us aware of this issue.

I'm afraid well, considering you are retired, that's probably the right thing to be doing, mate. So I very much appreciate you getting in contact with us and making us aware of this issue.

Not a problem. I just hope this gets resolved. Yeah, but I mean, you know, we might have only been here for like sixteen years, but you know, we've got plans to want to say, a bit longer, and it's going to be predicated on the fact that we've got the sort of services that would allow us to stay here spot on.

Not a problem. I just hope this gets resolved. Yeah, but I mean, you know, we might have only been here for like sixteen years, but you know, we've got plans to want to say, a bit longer, and it's going to be predicated on the fact that we've got the sort of services that would allow us to stay here spot on.

Ken Moffort, always good to speak with you. Thank you so much for your time this morning.

Ken Moffort, always good to speak with you. Thank you so much for your time this morning.

Okay, thanks Scodie, thank you

Okay, thanks Scodie, thank you